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A team of eight took student
pictures, moved the computer room, and painted at the Mission
Possible's Ebenezer school in the Dominican Republic. Here are
the notes from the team's days of ministry in Barahona.
Friday,
December 16, 2011
Hello everyone,
After 18 hours of traveling, a flat tire
and super heavy traffic, we finally arrived at Mission Possible
Ebenezer School around 8pm last night where we were served a
delicious Dominican meal!
Today has been a busy day for all. The
ladies worked hard on taking the students school photos (which
we just finished...yay!) while Jared and Russ have been learning
to plaster with cement...and doing a great job!
Thank you all so much for your prayers for
this team. We just found out that the last day of school before
Christmas break has changed to today. The students will be back
on Wednesday for a party, so we are looking forward to seeing
them again.
Please continue to pray for God to work in
our hearts as well as the Dominicans we are working along side.
Tara (& the Team)
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Hola Amigos (Hello Friends!) and family,
Today was another beautiful day in the
Domincan. We are having great weather and are getting lots of
work done. Moise gave us a tour of the school across the street
that they are currently working on and things are coming along
very well. The 1st level is complete with class rooms,
paintings, and decorations. The 2nd level is what Russ and Jared
are helping out with. They are plastering cement walls (making
walls out of cement) and doing a great job. All of us ladies
prepared and painted one of the two rooms that will eventually
be a music room and a computer lab at the current school. Today
there were not any kids at the school which we would have loved
to spend more time with them but we did get a lot of work
accomplished. We are enjoying our time very much and are getting
really nice tans! We are learning some Spanish phrases and most
importantly doing the Lords work. We are so thankful to have the
opportunity to serve and thank all of you for your prayers and
support. We love you all and hope that it’s beginning to look at
lot like Christmas in Findlay, Oh! Tomorrow we will get a rest
day and spend lots of time at church which we are all looking
forward to praising God with our Domincan friends.
Ashley and the 7 others
Sunday,
December 18, 2011
Hello
everyone,
Today is
Sunday, our day of rest. We attended church in the morning,
spent the afternoon in community with each other, which included
some time in the beautiful sun. Then we headed back to church
in the evening. One of my favorite things here in the Dominican
Republic is church. I love the joy and passion I see among the
people at church. Different people get up and share and sing.
Many of those sharing are young [some teens and many in their
20s) because I work with teenagers, I am just so inspired to see
them confidently sharing their faith with each other. Then the
service ends with music and dancing and greeting each other. I
wish my words described how Christ filled the room is.
Tomorrow will
be back to work... painting another classroom that will
eventually be a music room and building tables and benches for
the computer lab. What I love most about this work are the
people I get to share it with. We definitely have fun while we
work. I feel so blessed to be a part of this ministry.
Tracy
Hey everyone!
Today was a
big day for everyone. Ebenezer church has been teaching everyone
about fasting, so for the past three Sundays, the church fasted
all day, for 24 hours, starting at 6 PM on Saturday and ending
after the day long church on Sunday. Our team went to church in
the morning for about three hours and then went back upstairs to
get some rest. When we came back in the evening, around 5, the
same people were still there from this morning! They
demonstrated such commitment to God and the church. As Tracy
said, their passion and love for Jesus was amazing, so
inspiring. People were so willing to share their testimonies,
right on the spot. Moise even asked one of us, Russ, to share
and Russ did such a great job. In the morning service, we had
the opportunity to sing Mighty To Save in front of the church.
Some people knew the words and sang along with us, which made
the moment even better, since we didn't have a lot of time to
prepare. It was super cool to see everyone joining together and
singing the same song, in their own language.
Mackenzie
Monday,
December 19, 2011
Hello everyone from the DR,
Today we learned if at first you do not
succeed, try, try, again! We thought we had completed painting 1
room Sat- to discover that was not the case and we had to redo
and spackle sorry about the spelling the cement walls and then
repaint the entire room and ceiling. So we were thrilled to
finish the room today, which is painted green, and will be used
by the students as a computer room. We then started on the
second room, and will God willing complete that tomorrow. The
students will be using that room as a music room. It is lovely.
We are all tired and ready to get some good rest tonight to be
rested for more painting tomorrow.
Russ and Jared had an equally busy day.
They helped hang custom made doors on the rooms we are painting.
It was a lot of work for them. They also tore down desks that
were mounted in the walls of the old computer room.
Unfortunately they found termites had moved in these desks so
they can not be reused. They had to tear them apart and throw
the wood away. They also spent time disassembling computers that
they will get them reassembled in the newly painted room
tomorrow!
The weather is perfect here, not too hot
and the cool breeze helps. The mornings are a little cooler than
the afternoons but really we are just enjoying the sunshine.
Everyone is getting along well and having a blast doing the
Lords work!
Monica
Tuesday,
December 20, 2011
Hello!
Today was another amazing day in the DR.
We accomplished so much and we were able to see Moise grin from
ear to ear when he checked out the rooms we had painted. You
could see the dreams and passion he had for what would be
accomplished in the new computer lab and music room. We also
painted half of another classroom and will be excited to see who
gets to paint the other half. Tomorrow holds the school wide
Christmas party so we can hardly wait to see what fun we will
get to have with the students. Time is going so fast and we are
savoring every moment, including all the evangelists who preach
by loudspeaker throughout the night. The last two nights the
village has lost power at 7 pm so the music and entertainment
have been kept to a small roar. Thanks to everyone back home
holding down the fort and keeping all the kiddos and families
running. Love from all of us!
Sara Ann, Joshua, Zachary, Samuel and
Elijah, I sang your songs today while I was painting and prayed
for you all.
Nicole
This week has been great. Russ and I have
had a lot of time working with Dominicans and Haitian workers...
without an interpreter. The first couple days we have been
plastering over the cement blocks of the new preschool
building. We have both had a lot of construction experience but
nothing quite like that. After a couple days of that we were
"promoted" to working with the carpenter installing doors in the
new music and computer rooms. Finally we deconstructed the old
computer lab only to find termites in the wood we planned to
reuse. Today we helped the women finish up the painting.
Tonight though has been a highlight of the trip. There was a
meeting with all parents and faculty at the school to answer
questions that they had for the American board and office as
well as address an issue of parents not wanting to help with the
education fees. I wasn’t sure of how this meeting would go but
it was great to see many of the parents in support of what
mission possible is all about. Many of them were very adamant
that they were willing to do more and pay more to participate in
their children's education and development. Only one more full
day here, and all the team members are ready to see what God has
in store.
Jared
Wednesday, December, 21, 2011
Hello everyone,
Thank you all so much for your prayers for
our team. We are all doing very and well and now preparing for
our day of traveling tomorrow.
Today was a busy, yet fun day. We toured
Barahona, DR, joined the students in their Christmas party and
played with them in the school yard, walked through Villa
Central (the village where Mission Possible school is located),
visited the coffee factory (where they gave each of us a sample
cup...except Nicole, of course), and enjoyed another delicious
Dominican meal of rice, bean, fish and fried plantains.
The week has been a great time of serving
and being served, learning and teaching, being stretched outside
of our comfort zones and doing what come naturally...God has
even bigger plans for this trip. Please pray for us as we
travel home and as we see how God might continue to use our
experiences to grow, strengthen and stretch us in our "normal",
daily lives.
Also, prepare your ears, hearts and minds
as I am sure your loved one(s) will have plenty to share with
you!
Cannot wait to see you!!! Have some
Christmas snow ready!
Tara |
